SARATOGA SPRINGS -- City police officer Edward Braim turned himself in to police and was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault in City Court Tuesday morning.

Braim, 34, of Grand Avenue is one of three officers who were suspended without pay last week while the department investigated an assault at Dango Fitzgerald's bar on Caroline Street involving the three off-duty officers.

Braim and fellow officers Mark Leffler and John Guzek were suspended after Saratoga Springs Police Chief Christopher Cole said a victim was assaulted by "one or more off-duty officers."

Braim is the only one of the three who will be charged, according to his attorney, Andrew R. Safranko, who also represents Leffler and Guzek.

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"There will be no criminal charges brought against the other officers involved and obviously based on that and this arrest today, those guys are clearly exonerated," Safranko said outside of court. "I believe Officer Braim will be exonerated in due time as well."

Court documents indicate Braim allegedly shoved the victim into the side of a parked vehicle "causing physical injury to the victim including difficulty breathing, redness, swelling and contusions to his torso, neck and wrist."

He was treated at the Saratoga Hospital Emergency Room.

"These are very weak charges," Safranko said. "The decision to charge was made by the chief of the police and the chief of police only."

Safranko said the department "succumbed to pressure by the local media and the local environment" in light of the recent public outcry about the handling of an alleged rape in September.

"I believe this to be kind of a smoke and mirrors type of a play by the police department," he said.

Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen declined to comment on the case Tuesday morning.

"Eventually I will make a statement, but not at this point in time," he said.

Safranko said Braim acted in self-defense when he allegedly assaulted the man at Dango Fitzgerald's bar in the early-morning hours of Nov. 12.

Safranko said the three officers "escorted" the 41-year-old victim from the bar after he was "unruly" and was asked to leave.

When the officers turned to go inside, Safranko said the victim allegedly "raised a glass beer bottle and was coming towards some of these officers," and that Braim acted "in self-defense or in defense of others."

Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III disputed the self defense claim: "We have no proof that indicates any substantiation that there is a basis for self defense."

"The chief has advised me that the victim is not in any way being looked into as a defendant or someone who possessed a dangerous instrument," Murphy added.

The city police department also issued a statement indicating a verbal dispute started inside Dango's and continued outside. During the fight, the statement said Braim pushed the victim into a parked car and onto the ground, injuring him.

Police were not notified about the incident until almost 1 a.m., more than 30 minutes after it occurred. Safranko said his clients believed the police had already been called, and that's why they didn't call the police themselves.

Leffler and Guzek remain suspended, though police say "there is no current evidence that either of those officers participated in the actual assault." Police say they face "administrative action relating to their conduct."

"The victim suffered physical injury as the statute requires," he said in a statement, adding that the victim has no health insurance and the Crime Victims Unit is assisting with his medical costs.

Murphy, though, said the injuries do not meet the statutory requirements for a felony charge.

The DA also said a special prosecutor might be necessary because Braim is a listed as a witness in a number of other cases being prosecuted.

Murphy said his office asked for an order of protection be issued for the victim.

The officer turned himself in to police at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. "He went through the normal booking and process procedures," Safranko said.

Braim was the first person called in an unusually-punctual City Court day and Safranko said he was in court for "less than two minutes." Braim waived the reading of the charges and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to reappear in court on Dec. 20.

Safranko said there is an administrative proceeding pending, but Safranko said he does not represent the officers in the internal investigation and has no knowledge of it.

Braim remains on suspension. He was hired by the city police department in 2002 and was paid $76,125 in 2011.

In 2011, another city police officer, Patrick Arpei, resigned after being charged with stalking his former girlfriend, a misdemeanor. The charges against Arpei were ultimately adjourned in contemplation of dismissal. He was suspended and was the subject of an internal review before his resignation.